Method and apparatus for constructing concrete culverts and the like



Oct. 11,1966 B. E. PLATT ETAL ETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONSTRUGTING CONCRETE GULVERTS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 22, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 44 /6 V 42 a 20 50 32 35 J0 INVENTORS F J. .L BEN E. PLATT HARRY L. HOLLAND Oct. 11, 1966 B. E. PLATT ETAL 3,277,556

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONSTRUCTING CONCRETE CULVERTS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 22, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS BEN E. PLATT' HARRY L. HOLLAND United States Fatent O 3,277,556 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONSTRUCTING CONCRETE CULVERTS AND THE LIKE Ben E. Platt, P.0. Box 494, and Harry L. Holland, 1215 Park Hill Drive NE., both of Gainesville, Ga. Filed Aug. 22, 1963, Ser. No. 303,893 8 Claims. (Cl. 29-155) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for positioning reinforcement rods and mold parts for concrete in the production of culverts and the like. More particularly, the invention has reference to the utilization of a support system made up of easily separable parts providing for the effective support and accurate alignment of molds and reinforcement rods in the construction of concrete culverts or similar structures.

Concrete being strong in compression but relatively weak in tension is generally reinforced with steel rods in structures where the concrete is likely to be in tension. There are a multiplicity of devices for holding the reinforcement elements in position during the pouring of concrete. Some are to support and others to space the reinforcement elements and yet others provide both support and hold the elements at the proper distance apart. The reinforcement elements must be carefully supported and spaced correctly for their maximum effect. When the concrete is poured it is important that they not be displaced from their correct positions. Experience has thus taught that slight deviations in the positions of the reinforcement elements from those considered optimum for the strength of the structure will adversely effect the structures strength to a significant degree. Hence, it is important that all reinforcement elements be accurately placed in accordance with the engineering specifications and be firmly held in position during concreting.

It is one of the principal objects of this invention to provide a novel, practical and economical means for the supporting and aligning of reinforcing elements and mold pieces in the construction of culverts and the like. The inventive system involved is particularly advantageous in that it provides a rigid framework which can be easily assembled and dismantled and which will both support and hold the various rods and bars at their proper position in the mold. The system not only permits more speedy construction operations but also the accuracy of placing the various reinforcement elements and mold pieces is substantially increased over known methods in current usage.

The invention is illustrated in preferred embodiments in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a higher vertical sectional view showing the assembly in a mold;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the double stud bracket member;

FIGURES 4 and 4A are plan and side elevational views, respectively, of the coupling member used in the assembly of the invention;

FIGURES 5 and 5A are side and front elevationals, respectively, of the mold support member utilized in the assembly of the invention; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective detailed view of the clamp member as employed in the assembly of the invention.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2, it is to be noted that a vertical side form 10 made of Wood or other suitable material constitutes an outer concrete mold for a culvert. Form 10 is held rigidly in place by means of a brace 11 or other suitable bracing means, as is well known in the art. The double stud bracket member 12 is firmly secured to the form 10 by means of bolts 14 or other securing means which will effect a rigid connection 3,277,556 Patented Oct. 11, 1966 between the side form 10 and the bracket member 12. The bracket member 12 comprises a backing strip 15 which has rigidly connected to it a pair of normally extending parallel studs 16 and 17. When the backing strip 15 is fastened to the side form 10, it will be appreciated that the studs 16 and 17 extend perpendicularly with reference to the form 10. Each stud, 16 and 17, slidably receives a beam support means 20.

Support means 20 has a body 22 which has a threaded hole in its lower portion to receive a bolt 24 which can be tightened against the studs 16 and 17 to prevent relative movement between the support member 20 and the stud involved. A flat plate 25 is welded to the upper portion of body 22 and a further pair of parallel plates 26 and 27 are welded to the plate 25 to leave a space corresponding to the standard size of a 2 x 4 piece of lumber. As seen in FIGURES l and 2, each support means 20 carry an alignment member comprising a 2 x 4 beam 30.

When two or more bracket members 12 are secured to the form side 10, as shown in FIGURE 1, the distance of the beams 30 from form 10 can be regulated by securing the supporting members 20 as required, relative to their respective studs 16 and 17.

Outside the support members 20 is -a vertical brace and mold support member 32 which serves the double function of connecting the studs 16 and 17 rigidly together outwardly of the backing strip 15 and supporting the mold piece 34. Each mold support member 32 comprises a vertical beam 35, and a pair of tubular heads 36 and 37. Heads 36 and 37 are spaced from each other an appropriate distance whereby head 36 receives stud 16 while at the same time head 37 receives stud 17. Each head, 36 and 37, has through its side a threaded hole which receives bolts 40 and 41, respectively, which can be brought to bear in gripping engagement with studs 16 and 17, respectively, when the heads are received thereon as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. Welded to the lower portion of the tube 35 is a yoke 42 which receives the offset portion 34A of the mold piece 34 as shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 5. As may be seen in FIGURE 5A, the mold 34 may be split to constitute parts 34B and 34C. The yoke 42 thus has two clamping bolts 43 and 43A which can be brought into gripping contact with the portion 34A of parts 343 and 34C.

At the terminal portion of the stud 17, as shown in FIGURE 2, a double headed coupling member 44 is received. As can be seen in FIGURES 4 and 4A, the coupling member 44 comprises a pair of cylindrical heads 45 and 46 which are welded together in a side by side parallel relationship each of which receiving through a threaded hole in its side a tightening bolt 47. Thus tied in with the stud 17 through the coupling member 44 is a further horizontal tubular member 50.

A pair of further mold support members 32A and 32B identical to support member 32 are disposed on the tubular member 50 to provide support for a pair of riser mold pieces 51 and 52, as shown in FIGURE 2. Spaced along the tubular member 50 are one or more support pieces 54 which are secured to the tubular member 50 by appropriate clamping means 55. In this embodiment the clamping member comprises a pair of heads 56 and 57 similar to the pair of heads which make up the coupling member 44 except that instead of being welded to each other in a parallel fashion, as shown in FIGURES ture.

bars 65 which go on the top and bottom side of the alignment member 30. The bars 65 are connected by a slanted cross-bar 66 and each has a hook portion 67 on its outer end for engaging the reinforcement rod 62. A wedge 70 is forced between the cross-bar 64 and the alignment member 30 whereby the hook means 67 grasps the reinforcement rod 62 against the opposite side of the beam 30 to hold it in a desired position. It has been found that this method provides a very accurate alignment of the reinforcement rod 62 relative to the mold.

Utilization of the above-described assembly is as follows: The bed is first made for the culvert or like structure and the wooden side forms are placed in position. Mat 60 is placed on the bed. Two or more of the double stud bracket members 12 are then secured at an even height along the side form 10. Support members are placed on the studs 16 and 17 and the mold support members 32 are placed in position outside of support members 20 and are secured to the studs 16 and 17 at a distance from the side form 10 so that the mold piece 34 will be in its correct position. The mold piece 34 is then placed in the yoke 42 and clamped by bolts 43 and 43A at exactly the distance from the form 10 as called for in the specifications for the struc- Beams are then set in the support means 20 and the latter are secured to the studs 16 and 17 so that the beams 30 and 31 are the correct distance from the wooden side form 10 to permit the correct positioning of the vertical reinforcement rods 62. A reinforcement rod 62 may be set in place with spacing according to the specifications on the structure involved by clamping it to the beams 30 by clamps 64. This is accomplished by placing hooks 67 around the reinforcement rod 62 involved.

It will be understood that while only one reinforcement rod is shown in FIGURE 1 for the purposes of clarity, in practice a plurality of such rods are secured at spaced intervals along each of beams 30. When it is positioned correctly the wedge 70 is forced between the beam 30 and the cross-bar 66 of the clamp 64 to provide a rigid holding means. By means of the coupling member 44, an additional horizontal tube may be connected from a stud 17 on one side of the mold structure to a similar stud 17 extending from a further double stud bracket membr 12 on the other side of the mold (not shown). At appropriate places along the mold, the tubular member 50 is supported by support pieces 54 through clamping means 55. Where it is desired to form a riser in a culvert, mold support members such as mold support member 32A or 32B are placed on the tubular member 50. Once the assembly is in place, the concrete is poured forming the floor of the structure and the base portions of the risers 74 and 75 with the vertilcal reinforcement rods held firmly in place in the set concrete. The assembly may be then removed with facility and the culvert or like structure is completed in the conventional manner. However, the fact that the reinfor-cement rods are positioned more accurately in the concrete permits a structure which more nearly approaches its optimum theoretical strength. Moreover,

because the various supporting elements can be placed in position and removed with considerable speed, a substantial savings in labor costs for the construction of the structure involved results.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom for further modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

We claim: 3

1. A method of positioning reinforcement rod-s in a mold for concrete which comprises the steps of rigidly connecting at least two pairs of studs to a vertical side of said mold whereby said studs are parallel to each other ,and extend perpendicularly from said vertical side coincident with the corners of a parallelogram, securing the studs of each of said pair of studs together at a place spaced from said vertical side by a vertical brace member, securing between said brace member and said vertical side an alignment member to two of said studs, whereby said alignment member is substantially horizontal in a parallel relationship to said vertical side and spaced a selected distance therefrom, and clamping vertically extending reinforcement rods to said alignment member at selected positions.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 with the added step of securing a horizontal mold piece to said vertical brace members whereby said reinforcement rods extend from the space between said mold piece and said vertical side.

3. A method in accordance with claim 2 with the additional steps of placing an extension member on at least one of said studs, supporting the free end of said extension member, placing reinforcement rods horizontally under said extension and tying said rods to said extension member at a selected distance thereunder.

4. Apparatus for positioning reinforcement rods in a mold for concrete which comprises a backing strip for connection to a vertical side wall of a mold, at least two parallel studs extending normally from said backing strip, a vertical brace member engaging each of said studs, said brace member extending perpendicularly to said studs and slidably fastened thereto outwardly from said wall, support means slidably received on at least one of said studs between said backing strip and said brace member, alignment members carried by said support means, said alignment members extending normally with respect to said studs and said brace member, a clamp selectively engaging said support means for clamping to reinforcement rods.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 wherein a mold piece is removably connected to said brace member and extends normally relative thereto.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 having extension means extending from at least one of said studs, holding means supporting said extension means on its end away from said studs, and depending means depending from said extension means holding a reinforcement mat at a predetermined height.

7. Apparatus for positioning reinforcement rods according to claim 4 wherein said clamp member comprises tWo bar means bracketing said alignment member transversely, a cross-bar connecting said bars at one end, said bars incorporating hook means on the other end for engaging a reinforcement rod, and a withdrawable wedging member between said cross-bar and said alignment member whereby said hook means may grasp a reinforcement rod against the opposite side of said alignment member in a selective predetermined position.

8. In an apparatus for positioning reinforcement elements which includes a horizontal alignment member, a clamp member which comprises two bar means bracketing said alignment member transversely, a cross-bar connecting said bars at one end, said bars incorporating hook means on the other end for engaging a reinforcement rod, and a wedge member removably forced between said cross-bar and said align-ment member wherev by said hook means holds a reinforcement rod against the opposite side of said alignment member, in a selective predetermined position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,229,365 6/1917 Wiegand 52-677 1,598,840 9/1926 Zucco 264 35 1,715,497 6/1929 Forster 264 35 1,887,385 11/1932 Wertz 249 30X JOHN F. CAMPBELL, Primary Examiner.

THOMAS H. EAGER, Examiner. 

1. A METHOD OF POSITIONING REINFORCEMENT RODS IN A MOLD FOR CONCRETE WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF RIGIDLY CONNECTING AT LEAST TWO PAIRS OF STUDS TO A VERTICAL SIDE OF SAID MOLD WHEREBY SAID STUDS ARE PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER AND EXTEND PERPENDICULARLY FROM SAID VERTICAL SIDE COINCIDENT WITH THE CORNERS OF A PARALLELOGRAM, SECURING THE STUDS OF EACH OF SAID PAIR OF STUDS TOGETHER AT A PLACE SPACED FROM SAID VERTICAL SIDE BY A VERTICAL BRACE MEMBER, SECURING BETWEEN SAID BRACE MEMBER AND SAID VERTICAL SIDE AN ALIGNMENT MEMBER TO TWO OF SAID STUDS, WHEREBY SAID ALIGNMENT MEMBER IS SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL IN A PRALLELL RELATIONSHIP TO SAID VERTICAL SIDE AND SPACED A SELECTED DISTANCE THEREFROM, AND CLAMPING VERTICALLY EXTENDING REINFORCEMENT RODS TO SAID ALIGNMENT MEMBER AT SELECTED POSITIONS. 